“You don’t wait for me to agree with this,” Prime Minister said

Answering a question from a LDPR deputy if he is not going to dismiss Livanov, Medvedev replied, “You don’t wait for me to agree with this.”

“Of course, the minister is not the rouble to like everyone,” Medvedev said.

“Moreover, I say with all responsibility: there is a set of positions in the government - ‘punishable’ if you want. The positions of education minister, as well as of healthcare minister, are among them. Let remember any of you to say a good word for the education minister or the healthcare minister,” the prime minister stressed.

In his view, “a minister whom everyone likes is a person, who can hardly cope with duties.” Any minister, including an education minister, should maintain permanent contacts with his partners, including State Duma deputies. “I’d like all my colleagues and the audience to rivet attention to this fact,” the prime minister said.

Medvedev stressed that the situation was rather normal when parliamentarians criticised the government while ministers should be ready to give reasons for their position.